Jet Pack Blues
by Werealljuststoriesintheend
Summary: Oneshot. Inspired by "Jet Pack Blues" by Fall Out Boy. A year after Emma's sacrifice.


_She's in_ _a_ _long black_ _coat tonight_  
 _Waiting_ _for_ _me_ _in the downpour_ _outside_  
 _She's_ _singing,_ "Baby, _come_ _home" in_ _a_ _melody_ _of tears_  
 _While_ _the_ _rhythm_ _of_ _the_ _rain_ _keeps_ _time_

* * *

 _ **Present Day**_

Today marks exactly a year since Emma Swan made the most selfless sacrifice anybody in all the realms had ever seen. The savior sacrificed everything she had and everything she was in hopes that the former Evil Queen would have a chance at getting a happy ending.

A year ago, Regina did believe that she had her happy ending. She had her soulmate, her son, Emma, and the two idiots. Her family was safe and together, and Regina had finally found her place in this world.

As her luck would have it though, her happy ending was short-lived. In the span of twenty-four hours her life was completely turned upside down.

* * *

 _Regina had endured many losses in her life, she watched her first love die, she crushed her father's heart, and her mother died in her arms. She knew loss like no other, but it did not prepare her for the loss of Emma Swan._

 _To this day, Regina is still not able to understand why Emma did what she did. Maybe it was because of the promise she made, maybe it was because of her title as the savior, or maybe it was because that was simply who Emma Swan was._

 _Emma sacrificed herself for Regina's happiness but what she didn't realize was that she was a part of it. One of Regina's biggest regrets is never telling Emma that she loved her. Emma was the only true friend that Regina had ever had. Well, friend does not even begin to describe what Emma meant to her. Their relationship was beyond words._

 _Regina was devastated when Emma disappeared but she pushed her feelings aside and focused on planning how to safely get Emma home. When Emma disappeared only the dagger was left behind, she made sure to be the one to always have the dagger, and Operation Save Emma began (Regina had come up with the name, and Henry readily accepted it)_

* * *

 _In Storybrooke, Regina, Henry, and the Charmings dedicated all their time to the Operation. Robin helped where he could which usually consisted of him reminding everyone to take a break to eat or sleep. Hook knew that he would be more useful at sea so aboard the Jolly Roger he traveled through realms to see if he could find anything that might help._

 _Regina and Henry could usually come up with plans in a couple of days but their plans failed every single time. Each failure more painful than the last. Snow and Charming always tried to help everyone keep their hope but as time passed even they started to lose it._

* * *

 _Six months passed until they all lost it. They had read everything there was to read and tried everything they could. Hook was due to return from his travels and at this point he was their last hope._

 _They all waited by the docks, hearts on their sleeves watching the Jolly Roger fade into view._

 _Hook's face gave nothing away, and so they still had hope._

 _Regina ran up to him as soon as he stepped off the Jolly Roger._

 _"_ _Did you find anything?" Regina asked, getting straight to the point and not bothering with pointless pleasantries._

 _Hook slowly shook his head and with a resigned voice said, "I have traveled through every realm possible and I found nothing of use."_

 _Hook continued to speak but Regina was no longer listening, she walked away from the docks and vaguely heard Henry, the Charmings, and Robin screaming her name but she couldn't be there anymore._

 _Regina made it all the way to her bedroom in the mansion before she finally broke down. The weight of everything finally crashing into her. All the emotions she hadn't allowed herself to feel for six months all came rushing at the same time. She waved her hand in the air and in seconds Emma's favorite red leather jacket was in her hands. She clutched it to her chest as sobs wracked her body._

* * *

 _Nobody was ever really the same after that._

 _The Charmings tried to continue with their lives as normally as they could for the sake of their baby but the light from their eyes had visibly faded._

 _Hook tried to move on with his life, too and he was able to soften the hurt of the loss with rum._

 _Henry dealt with it as well as any teenager dealt with losing his mother. There were days when he was able to be truly happy but often there was a lingering sadness about him._

 _Regina tried to lose herself in taking care of Henry, Robin, Roland and Zelena. At first it worked or maybe she was just forcing it to, who knows. Later, as Zelena was weeks from giving birth to Robin Hood's child, the tension between Regina and Robin became too much._

 _Their relationship had been rocky for months and this was the breaking point. Robin tried his best to help Regina deal with the loss of Emma, but he also had his children to worry about and no matter how hard he and Regina tried, it just wasn't working out between them anymore._

 _Soon, it was just Regina and Henry at the mansion living life by simply going through the motions._

* * *

 _ **Present Day**_

Regina stands in the middle of Main Street in the exact spot where Emma disappeared. She's wearing a long black coat, the rain is pouring down masking the tears falling down her face. Regina pulls the dagger out of her coat and runs her fingers over the name on the dagger.

"Emma, please come home."


End file.
